Wortbeitrag von Peter Moos

First of all I want to say thank you to Stolpersteine Ulm – Mark, Hans-Peter, Martin and all others that have contributed to this ceremony. You have all made a fantastic work in organizing this, exploring and documenting the history of our ancestors, and finally to track down all us relatives and inviting us. You are all doing a fantastic job!

Besides highlighting the history, for me personally, this has also been an opportunity to meet my own relatives and to learn more about my own history.

It is satisfying to see all the work put in, to commemorate the Holocaust, first and foremost by voluntary forces such as Stolpersteine Ulm, but also by the City of Ulm. It is invaluable to see, remember and learn from the history and also to highlight this for future generations.

A few words about my father, Hans:
My father, who was raised here in Frauenstraße 7, has in many ways described his childhood as unhappy. This, not only due to the Holocaust and all that it entailed, but also because of his parents‘ “unhappy” marriage which eventually led to divorce. This in turn meant that Hans was raised by his father and his father´s siblings. My father was always very reluctant to talk about his childhood in Ulm.

When my father eventually had the opportunity to leave Germany in 1939, he fled to Denmark.
One reason for coming to Denmark was actually that he was not welcome in Sweden.
At this time, Sweden was a country very much impressed and influenced by German culture and technology. Therefore Sweden had a friendly relationship with Germany and in 1939, Sweden did not want to receive any German Jewish Refugees. However, Sweden agreed to let in, not more than 500 Jewish children, provided that they would proceed to Palestine as soon as possible.
My father was not one of these 500 Jewish children.

In 1943, when the situation for the Jews in Denmark suddenly became much more difficult, his could cross the Öresund and arrive in Sweden. By this time, Sweden had changed its attitude and opened its border for Jewish refugees.
In Sweden, my father was sent to a kibbutz in Falun, where young Jews practiced agriculture and handicrafts in order to continue to Palestine. Here my father met my mother Ruth.

Today, a war is going on in Ukraine, and Ukrainians are fleeing all over Europe.
This is a good opportunity to remember the fate of Europe’s fleeing Jews, and learn from it.

I appeal to you all: Open your hearts to the Ukrainian refugees!